Monday, May 8, 2017

The O.C Interviews: Shaun Cozzens (Pizza guy from Julie's Sex Tape The Porn Identity)



Shaun Cozzens may not be too familiar but he has done a fair amount of acting over the years, mainly small roles but consistent never the less. To us O.C. fans he was Julie's co-star in her pizza porn VHS flick! Starting to remember? Shaun Cozzen played the pizza delivery guy on the tape, delivering more than just a pizza if you know what I mean. They both act out what could be the worlds cheesiest (no pun intended) scenes ever!

Below is a clip from their video and a vintage interview with Shaun Cozzens (from the now defunct O.C. site Editorial Newport). An interview so good it needed to be re-posted! Enjoy!



Who?: Shaun Cozzens
Who!?: He played the pizza guy in Julie's blast-from-the-past porn flick, "The Porn Identity". Featured in episodes 2.15 - 2.17.

1. Had you ever seen the show before your appearance?
Actually I only saw the show a few times but not an actual full episode until I got a call for the audition. I watched the show then just to see who I would be in a scene with and exactly how they act and what there character was like so I could adjust my audition accordingly.

2. What was it like being featured on such a successful series?
I had an absolute blast. The crew, producers, directors and Melinda were great to work with and very accepting of a new comer. They helped me feel right at home and comfortable enough to try fun things, which I think helped the episode turn out the way it did.

3. With your somewhat obscure role in the episode, what did your family and friends think?
The role was killer. I mean, who wouldnt want to play a cheesy 80's pornstar. Especially when you get to play opposite a great and beautiful actress. My friends and family still joke around about it and give me a hard time, but it is all in fun and they know that acting is my true passion and they are totally supportive of that.

4. Favourite OC Babe?
Wow, that is a tough one. They were all beautiful, but I would have to say Melinda because she was the one that I saw and worked the most with. I didnt really have a chance to talk to any of the others except in passing.

5. Was Melinda Clarke a good kisser?
Haha what a hilarious question. Of course she was.... She was very professional and easy to work with which made the kissing scene easier to do. Its always difficult to come on set and do an intimate scene with someone that you dont know and have only talked to for like 5 minutes before they say "action" and have to make it look real and believable. But I think we pulled it off ok.

6. And finally, Were there any outstanding experiences from your time on the show?
I would have to say the best experience for me was making the cast and crew bust up laughing while we were shooting and all the outtakes that occurred while filming. That coupled with the phone call that I got from a friend that went to the wrap party for the season and said that Melinda gave a speech about working with me and how she enjoyed it and how much fun she had then the showed some of the outtakes to the crowd. It was nice to be thought of in that way......All in all the people were great and the experience was one of my favorite acting gigs to date.

Interview conducted: April 4th, 2007.
Published on: April 5th, 2007.

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

The O.C. Filming Locations: The Mermaid Inn AKA Beach Plaza Hotel is Gone!!

The name sign and mermaid were props added just for the show (lighting effect added by us)

Sad news OC'ers we've lost yet another filming location, this time it's the The Mermaid Inn aka Beach Plaza Hotel...sigh....

mermaid inn from the o.c. tv show
Before (2015)

mermaid inn from the o.c. torn down demolished location
After (now)
This filming location was not as big as loosing The Bait Shop but it served us up some important scenes never-the-less...

julie and luke kiss the o.c.



Like the time Ryan and Seth find out Luke is sleeping with Julie 

ryan and theresa makeout at the mermaid inn the o.c.

OR how bout when Ryan and Theresa hooked up behind Eddies back


The Beach Plaza Hotel was a real hotel in Long Beach, CA, (not in Newport). The hotel had 40 rooms and was there for a long time. The hotel was located at 2010 E Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90803. This O.C. filming location served up scenes for 4 different episodes, three episodes from season 1 and one episode in season 3 (some scenes featured above).


Nothing like a good ole cheap hotel to boost drama! Above is where Julie and Luke hooked up for the first time, which was located on the opposite side. We can't confirm at this point if any of the rooms were actually filmed in but by the looks of the images found around the web of the interiors, furniture etc they don't quite match with what is shown on The O.C..Thus giving us the impression that the interiors were filmed at Raleigh Manhattan Beach Studios (with the rest of The O.C. sets).




The hotel has some very interesting and hilarious reviews on yelp, make sure to check them out! Overall the general consensus was that the hotel was very affordable (especially to be so close to the beach), customer service was so-so but the rooms could be very trashy and not cleaned very well.

Here is an actual photo of inside one of the rooms..classy eh?

Furthermore the walls were "paper thin", some rooms were without AC, low prices so close to the beach attracted parties, rambunctious behavior and some guests even complained about hearing people doing the deed. Prices ranged from 35 dollars to upper 70's depending on the room and accommodations but this was very cheap for the location. So affordable that many guests appeared to ignore the flaws it had and were just happy to have a hotel so close to the beach at such a nice price. 


Here is a top view of what the hotel looked like. The yellow arrows point to the areas where filming took place. Most all happening on the left side. The yellow arrow in the back is where Seth and Ryan were when they saw Julie and Luke kissing. The front arrow was where Ryan and Seth walked in to ask if anyone turned in his watch. All which can be seen in Season 1 Episode 22 "The LA".

The future plan for the empty lot: As of now the lot remains empty but we discovered there are plans to build a multi-story hotel building that has 72 hotel rooms, complete with valet parking, restaurant and lounge. Sounds a heck of a lot more classy than the original. However locals are already wondering how that size hotel will effect traffic and congestion. Only time will tell!  

Fun fact: Which room did Theresa and Ryan hook up in? Give up? Room 204 which was one of the rooms on the upstairs portion of the hotel. We know this because Julie stays in room 205 which was right next door to where Theresa was staying. Julie hooked up with Luke in one of the downstairs rooms as well. The old hotel owner also mentions room 204 when Ryan and Seth ask about a missing watch.


But yes...Gone forever...but never forgotten! It's a cloudy day in the world of O.C. filming locations but we'll float on..We will miss you Mermaid Inn. Cheers.

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